Holiday Email and Social Media Posts Help You Stay Connected

I passed a holiday display in the mall the other day. Wow! They seem to debut earlier every year, but it reminded me that there’s more and more competition vying for your customers’ attention and patronage. So, rather than recoil in horror, let’s join the fray and capture some of that holiday abundance.

One great way to prep for your holiday marketing campaigns is to look at your customer profiles and begin to build a wish list in each client’s notes section. Think about how convenient and helpful this will be to the family members and friends who come into your spa or salon looking for gift ideas.

Email your clients now and ask them what they’d like to include in their wish list. You could also get this information during check out or build it using the history of services and products they’ve purchased.

While those wish lists are growing, you need to take steps now to communicate what your spa or salon is doing for the holidays. Using the email marketing capabilities of your business software and posting madly to all your social media outlets is an easy, no-cost way to do this.

Here’s how:

Make an Email List and Check it Twice

Email marketing campaigns can instantly connect you with clients and deliver promotions that encourage more purchases at your spa or salon. These campaigns are a powerful way to establish rapport and tout your expertise. Email marketing also is one of the most inexpensive ways to stay top-of-mind with your customers and promote appointments, products, or specials to increase revenue.

Again, the customer profiles in your spa and salon management system should come in handy here. Hopefully you’ve already secured the email addresses of existing clients that will comprise your contact list.

If you don’t have a robust contact list, here are a few ways to build one. You can:

Include an email sign-up form on your website.

Post email signup links or tabs via social media.

Ask clients for their email address during a salon visit or at check-out.

Use networking events, like a client party, as an opportunity to get people to sign-up.

Offer clients incentives for providing their email address, such as a discount off of their next purchase or early access to a new product or service.

Remember, you must offer clients the option to sign up to receive emails from your salon and give them an easy way to unsubscribe from your list. You shouldn’t send emails to clients in your database without their permission. Also, don’t overdo it. Sending too many emails can prompt people to ask to be removed from your email list. And that’s the last thing we want!

Rock the Holidays on Social

By now you’ve learned how important your social media presence is to your brand and communication strategies. You’ve either toyed with its capabilities or have become a real pro at posting pics and tweeting to your followers.

Regardless of where you lie in the social media maven continuum, however, if there was any time to gear up your use of these invaluable marketing tools the holidays are it! That’s why I’d encourage you -- if you’re not familiar or comfortable with using social media outlets -- to give them a try.

By keeping in mind that each network requires a slightly different approach, you can herald in the holiday season with fun, and build interest in and excitement about your spa or salon.

Here’s how some of the main social media platforms can help you get into the spirit:

Facebook is great for visual media. Start posting photos or videos of holiday hair options, holiday-themed manicures, and relaxing, peaceful spa settings. You may also want to consider giving your Facebook fans access to exclusive holiday specials and rewards.

Instagram lets you and your staff show off your work. Posting before and after photos of those holiday dos or videos of stylists creating those looks should all be part of a salon or spa’s Instagram holiday strategy. Encourage satisfied customers to tag your business using the “Name This Location” option. That way, their friends know exactly where they got that gorgeous updo or soothing pumpkin facial!

Pinterest lends itself to salons in particular. Inspiration boards are a great outlet for photos of your products and services that drive traffic back to your website. Encourage individual stylists to create their own boards – showing off their flare for festive locks -- under the salon’s business account.

Twitter is perfect for distributing news of your holiday schedules, specials, and gift certificates. It’s also a great way to local editors and media personnel.

About the Author

Kate Rankin is a writer and communicator with extensive experience in Public Relations, Media Relations and Marketing. She's spent the lion's share of her career in networking, which served as the perfect segue for writing about Booker's innovative software platform.